The Malaysian Insider

OCT 21 — When a Malay wedding is over in some kampungs in Malacca, the custom is to welcome the groom into the family by placing charcoal on his face, thereby marking the conclusion of the groom’s journey. He is now part of the family and no more boundaries exists between the groom and the family.

So, it was interesting to see the reverse in action in a city like Shah Alam where, with one simple act in response to the proposal to relocate a Hindu temple, members of an entire community were made to feel unwelcome.

In place of the charcoal, there was a cow’s head and in place of an act to mark the removal of boundaries was another act that created boundaries instead of removing it.

AUG 28 — It has been more than 50 years since our independence. Yet, today, we are still apparently debating how race fits (or doesn’t fit) in with our nation.

In our pre-independence days, the notion of race was probably somewhat irrelevant. We found a common enemy in the British or even the Japanese. Race then was immaterial. It was principally “Us” against “Them”.

Today, when the government even considers or decided — depending on which news report you go by — to remove “race” from official forms and document, it is big news.

AUG 7 — Much has been said and written about last Saturday’s Gabungan Mansuhkan ISA (“GMI”) rally.

Most notably, the discussions centred on the question of whether traders along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman in Kuala Lumpur are entitled to file a suit and seek damages against the demonstrators for losses they supposedly sustained on the day of the rally.

Some legal eagles were consulted and quotable quotes began to fly quick and furious on the possibility of such actions being grounded on nuisance and negligence.

JULY 21 — Charles Baudelaire once said that the greatest trick that the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he didn’t exist. Well, he said that but the saying probably remained out of the limelight until Verbal Kint popularised it in the cult hit The Usual Suspects.

Not that it matters either way. They were both wrong. The truth is the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that no evil comes out of doing a “good” thing.

So when I first heard about the Home Minister’s prohibition of the use of the word “Allah”, I must confess that I had mixed feelings. Allow me to explain.